It has long been recognized in the shaving art that manually operated safety razors produce closer, more uniform shaves and cause less nicking when the blade cutting surface conforms to the complexity of a body surface profile. Many past attempts have been made to design a razor blade assembly which permits razor blade operations that produce more optimum shaves. Some of these attempts have disclosed single blade assemblies; some double blade assemblies. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,477, issued to Ferraro, discloses a double blade assembly featuring pivotally mounted first and second blades which individually pivot around the point at which the blade is mounted on the razor blade assembly. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,041, issued to Trotta, discloses a double blade assembly that features first and second blades which individually pivot about their respective rear edges. As another example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,593,416, issued to Edson, discloses a double blade razor assembly which has a blade carrier that pivots to follow the contour of the surface being shaved. While these and other similar inventions have produced relatively improved shave characteristics, unevenness of shave and nicking can persist. This is because the particular configurations of Ferraro and Trotta, as well as other previous pivoting razor blades, are designed such that the axis of rotation for the entire assembly is displaced from the blade tips, or cutting edge, resulting in significant non-rotational (i.e., translational) relative motion between the blade cutting edge and blade assembly. As is well known, this translational motion produces low frequency blade "chatter," which can result in nicking, discomfort and a relatively uneven shave. Stated differently, for configurations such as disclosed by Ferraro, Trotta, and Edson, the razor blade and the blade holding assembly can rotate independently of each other. It is this independent movement that gives rise to the unwanted "chatter."
In light of the foregoing, the present invention recognizes the need to significantly reduce blade chatter. Therefore, the present invention provides a pivoting safety razor assembly which produces a smoother, closer, more comfortable shave by shifting the axis of rotation of the entire assembly to the blade cutting edge. Further, the present invention provides a pivoting safety razor assembly which minimizes any translational relative motion between the blade cutting edge and the blade assembly. Still further, the present invention provides a pivoting safety razor assembly that achieves the foregoing results by limiting relative motion of the assembly to rotation about the blade cutting edge, thereby providing a highly responsive shaving system. Additionally, the present invention provides a pivoting safety razor assembly which is easy to use, relatively inexpensive to manufacture and comparatively cost effective.